Drafts and workplace assumptions

Subject: Drafts and workplace assumptions
From: Jean Hollis Weber <jean -at- jeanweber -dot- com>
To: "TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com>
Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2002 11:28:02 +1000


David Neeley mentioned several things that I've been intending to say, but hadn't had time to write, including these excerpts:

Surely you have seen instances of:
* Some writers who are 'way ahead of others...
* Some writers who are, uh, *somewhat ego bound* to
work in progress--while everyone is held up.
* Some writers who are so far behind in a project that
it jeopardizes delivery deadlines--but no one knows it
because it "isn't ready to be seen yet".
... another writer and I had to bail
out various others as they ran far behind schedule. If
the working files hadn't been accessible, that might
not have been possible.

Several other people talked about whether work needed to be "checked in" or otherwise made accessible to others at the end of each day or week. Having been both a team leader and a team member, I've seen both sides of these problems.

I think a copy of the latest version of any work should always be made accessible to others on the team, if for no other reason than that a writer can be killed or incapacitated at any time and others will need to finish the job. It has nothing to do with whether the writer is known to deliver quality work on time, despite the state of working notes and early "drafts." Even rough notes can help a replacement writer in an emergency.

Team leaders and managers do need to be able to assess how well a writer is doing, but I'm sure we would all agree that they should approach this with tact and good sense (which obviously not everyone exhibits). Snooping in a writer's desk is not the way to do this. Acceptable ways include the manager requiring that a copy of the latest work, or at least a summary of the state of the work, be handed in at specific intervals, such as weekly.

In a supportive atmosphere, writers should be able to tell a manager that they are getting behind, without fear of getting into trouble; unfortunately, many people feel too embarrassed to make this admission, or don't realise they are getting behind, or don't work in a supportive place.

Requirements (for checking in work and making drafts available to managers) should be made clear to writers from the outset, so conflicting assumptions don't escalate into major confrontations. Most of the recent "drafts" threads sound to me like a combination of "you didn't tell me the rules" and managers with poor people skills, but we need to recognise that many writers are difficult people too.

Regards, Jean
Jean Hollis Weber
jean -at- jeanweber -dot- com
The Technical Editors' Eyrie http://www.jeanweber.com/



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References:
Re: Drafts yet again: From: David Neeley

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